Fitting and finishing

It's hard to really see the nice graceful curve of this piece because it's so large.  I placed the doors on top of the cabinet, they still needed to be ripped in two and then fitted as well as the bottom drawer front.  This was an ambitious project to do in  five days.  All that was left to do was to cut and fit the doors and to put on a couple of drawer fronts and the back and the piece would've been complete.  The drawers were attached using full extension glides.  This was a fun piece to build.

Credenza glue up

Here are some images of the credenza glued up. We then started to fit the doors and drawers together.  The center panels are made out of solid cherry and coopered.  The two drawers on the left side will fit into the spaces above.  The drawer boxes are fitted with curved ledger strips allowing us to fit the curved, coopered

fronts on.  The back has been cut but not put on yet.

 

Making and edging drawers

The credenza has five drawers in it.  We made the drawers out of Baltic birch plywood and edged them with poplar.  Again- a good lesson learned in that you can never have enough clamps.  Below are the drawers being edged with the hardwood and clamped.  We used pocket screws to construct the drawers.  The false fronts of the drawers are made out of solid cheery, coopered to form the curve. 

Making coopered doors

Nathan and Gaylin are orienting the grain on some staves they cut.  Staves are the individual pieces of wood, cut on an angle tht are used too make a curved panel.  In our case a door and some drawers.  We made a form that was cut from the pattern of the full scale drawing to help with the glue up.  The form is mde up of curved pieces of plywood and glued onto a plywood base.  We made three large coopered panels.  Two are for the doors and one is for the drawers.  The two large panels will have a section that is cross cut from it to become the outside drawer fronts.  The center large panel will be crosscut into three too form the center drawer faces.  Each large door will be ripped into two to form the doors.

Coffee Break

Matt and Matt entertained us at break one day.  These two guys are from the area and are fantastic musicians.  This was an awesome jam.  The view below is looking out of the window from the computer

room.

 

Laying out biscuits

Here Evan trys to make sense of all of the parts.  The gables and dividers are joind to the bottom are joined together with biscuits.  Evan spent a lot of time laying out and positioning where the joints would be cut.  Biscuits are easy to do but can be confusing, it's real easy to get turned around and cut on ein the wrong

spot

 .   

Making the base

 Evan and Gillian work on constructingg the base.  All corners are mitered.  The back of the base is poplar and the two sides and front of the base are made out of cherry.  Two sides are mitered at 90 degrees and the front is mitered at 41 degrees.  Because of the full scale drawing we were able to determine the angle with a bevel gauge directly from the drawing.  The corners are reinforced with plywood corner blocks that also act as an area to attached the bottom to.  Below is Matt lending a hand to the construction of the base.  I was really impressed with the results.  All of the students only have four weeks prior experience in woodworking and here they are making coopered doors and kerf bending wood.   



Kerf Bending

Here Evan shows off the fruits of his labor.  This is a solid piece of cherry eight feet long and four inches wide. We cut saw cut ( kerfs) into the back face.  The cuts are made every half inch and go within an eighth of an inch from the surface. The piece worked great.  We were able to curve it around our frame and cut the miters on the ends, creating a beautiful looking base for the credenza.   

 

Bow Front Continued

Here is the bottom of the credenza being edged in hardwood.  The gentle curve of the credenza is part of an ellipse which meant it was easier to take a direct read of our curve with a bevel gauge rather than try to work out a mathematical formula.  The doors and drawers were coopered using this method.  This is where having a full scale drawing of your piece is important.

 

Bow Front Credenza

The project I designed for the client and the class to build was a bow front credenza out of cherry veneered plywood and solid wood.  I made a full scale drawing and a template of the piece.  This made it easier to work from.  The dimensions of the piece are 84" long x 34" high by 24" wide at the center.  There is a black granite top that will overhang the credenza by an inch all around.  Here you can see the bottom of the credenza and the sides getting hardwood edging glued on.  The edging is then flush trimmed to give it a nice clean look.  The credenza is frame less with inset doors and drawers. You can see that you can never have

 enough clamps.

Yestermorrow Again

This past week I taught a class at Yestermorrow.  There are eight students participating in a eleven week woodworking intensive at Yetermorrow.  The students live on campus during the program.  I was a visiting artist for week 5 of the program, teaching a class in advanced cabinetry.  Myself and the students were involved in building a client-based commission.  I designed a piece for the client weeks prior to the class and then the piece is used as a teaching tool, myself and the students construct it.  It's an ambitious endeavor.

Driving up to Yestermorrow was a little nerve racking.  Once I hit the New Hampshire border I had Ice all the way up into Vermont.  What would normally be a four and a half hour drive took me seven and a half, but it was all worth it when I got there.

 I was invited that evening to the kitchen to have a few beers and jam.  Four of the people in these images were students of mine.  Gillian is playing the violin, Matt is playing the banjo and the other Matt is playing guitar.   Jacob brought two guitars, one so I could play.  Jacob was very gracious and let me play his Martin guitar.  One of my students is from my neck of the woods in Ontario, Canada.  Can you tell which one he is?  The night was a lot of fun, a great ice breaker.  Thanks to all of the students for making me feel

comfortable. 

       



maple sugar display

Sometimes it's nice too build something that doesn't take a lot of thought or finesse.  I like to build something random and uncomplicated before I have to really focus on a serious piece and worry about details.  It's sort of like a stretch before the run, a warm up of sorts.  My friend Jeff is doing a display for a maple syrup festival.  He found an old television that will be equipped with a computer that will have images on it of the sugaring process.  The TV will sit on a faux log.  Jeff will spray the log to give it a texture then paint it.
Today I made the faux log out of plywood and coverd it with Masonite.

 

This was fun way to spend the day in the studio.  While I was building this for Jeff I was working out the detail of my class I will be teaching next week at Yestermorrow Design School.

Robins, groundhogs and adirondack Chairs

When I arrived at the studio this morning I was greeted by a sure sign that spring is around the corner.

All of the snow had melted and exposed the Adirondack chairs that were left outside all winter.  They look beautiful, just waiting for someone to sit it in them and enjoy the sun.  Who needs a robin or a groundhog seeing his shadow, this is a sure sign that spring is near.

Drawing full scale

Today I started to draw a full scale projection of the bow front credenza I'm working on for my class at Yestermorrow.  I taped some Kraft paper to a full sheet of plywood and started measuring.  The best way to see proportions is to just draw out an example.  If you don't like what you see, erase it and start all over again.  I clamped two boards at the length of the credenza and use a 1/4" strip of pine to project a curve for the bow front.  This is arbitrary.  Once I got a curve that I thought looked good, I traced it.  This is the start of a full scale drawing. I'll then draw all of the interior dimensions on the paper and ply.  I can then use this drawing to calculate my materials and use the drawing as a template to order the black granite top from.

Process

Here is a sketch of a bow front credenza I'm designing for a client in Vermont.
The process is part of the course I'm teaching in advanced cabinetry at the Yestermorrow  Design School in Warren, VT.  from Feb 28- March 5. www.yestermorrow.org The class is involved in a community based project.  The credenza is our project.
We still have to work out the details.  The doors and drawers are curved, mimicking the curved edge of the clients dining table.  The credenza will be made out of cherry and have a black granite top.

The end of a good week

We've had so much snow that we haven't been able to get into the studio as much as we would like but this week has been a good week.  I finished some projects that have been lingering.  Here is Fiona's stand complete and the rustic chair for the show.  All - in - all a good way to end the week.

Fiona's

Today I finished Fiona's guitar stand.  It is made of curly maple for the box and sits on a nest of rosewood.  The interior will get covered in medium density foam and then covered in velvet.  This is something Harvey and Fiona will do.  The finish is a shellac finish with a coat of wax.  It looks really warm.  .

The Garage: Rustic Chair

Today Jeff and I shot the final footage for the rustic chair project.  I attempted to weave a chair seat with shaker style webbing.  I ran out of the black tape so I couldn't do the small corners but all in all it worked out well.  I didn't weave the back, I tacked some small pieces of maple to the back rails and used some wire to re-in force it.  It worked out well.  I left the wood natural so it would patina with age.

Rustic Chair-Again

Here's the leaning chair or the haunted house chair waiting for a seat. This chair is the latest project we're building for the show " The Garage". I had these sticks leftover from Peters Valley. I have literally run out, there was just enough for this project. The seat is level and square but the back twist as if it is being blown by the wind. I like it. It will get covered in a red and black shaker tape seat. It's not pretty but it works. The other image is just me sanding

some rosewood parts.

"The garage" Rustic Chair

Yesterday and today Jeff and I shot some footage for the " Tha Garage".  I'm building a rustic chair with pieces I collected from a workshop at Peters Valley Craft Center.  I don't have many so we're trying to make it work with what we have at hand.  The chair seat will be covered with a woven shaker tape. 

The Studio in snow

I had to take these images of the studio covered in snow after the last Nor' Easter.  It looked like a quaint

 alpine lodge.  What a great environment to work in.

Nor' Easter

We woke to plenty of snow this morning in Massachusetts. These shots were taken looking out our front door of our house. It's a snow day for all. A good day to get some long over due

computer work done.

The Band

I thought I'd start a garage band and these knuckle heads auditioned for the band.  Actually I have to thank Christopher Whitehead of the Worcester Art Museum.  Last year the Art Museum had an exhibition called " Who shot rock".  These cut outs were all over the museum.  Christopher called me up and asked if I wanted them.  I already have a 6 foot cut out of Elvis in the studio so these fit perfectly.  Thanks Christopher'

New wood stove

We recently got a new wood stove in the studio.  Liesl's Dad did a great job installing it quickly so we could

get back to work making.

Rosewood continued

Here I'm test fitting the nest to the box.  I'm using double sided tape to hold it in place.  I then took a sharp knife and scribed a line where the nest meets the box.  I glued on blocks of rosewood at the scribed line.  I'll then cut the curve shaped pieces, sand and finish them.

Birds eye and Rosewood

Here is the nest for the prototype guitar stand/Box. The final stand is made out of birds eye maple for the box and rosewood for the nest. The nest is joined with lap joints cut on the table

saw with the dado blade.

Toy Box at Play

There is no greater compliment than seeing a piece you made being used.  This was such a fun project to build.  Here is Quinn's toy box, in his room, being well used.